Once In A Blue Moon
by Disney Sorceress
Summary: Bella has adjusted to life as a vampire and has finally agreed to marry Edward. What neither of them counted on was a visit from a member of the Volturi. When all they care about is threatened, will the Cullens fall apart?
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer: The Twilight Universe Belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**_

It should have been routine.

There had been a minor uprising in the Northwestern United States and Demetri had been sent to take care of it. He had not been particularly excited about the assignment. The perpetrator was an irritating, mouthy red-head that had much of the state of Washington in an uproar. Demetri had dealt with this one before and had rather hoped never to do so again, but fate—or , more likely, Caius—had a very twisted sense of humor.

In any case, one doesn't argue with a Patriarch of the Volturi.

It was supposed to be a minor, routine job, one that Demetri was used to handling, so he held his tongue.

It turned out to be anything but routine. A rather surprising turn of events involving, of all things, a pack of werewolves and a barely avoided massacre had resulted in Demetri extending his trip in order to pursue an interesting new lead on his own.

He was back in Volterra now, at long last, and on his way to report to the Patriarchs. He'd uncovered an interesting new development—and since he himself was unsure what to make of it, he knew that Aro, Caius, and Marcus would be particularly intrigued.

Demetri barely acknowledged the other "family members" he passed as he strode purposefully through the depths of Volterra's ancient clock tower. His first duty was to the Patriarchs; there would be time for the rest of them later.

Bypassing the large hall where visitors were generally greeted, Demetri headed instead for the smaller chamber where the Patriarchs usually held their more private audiences. The guard at the door caught Demetri's eye and nodded infinitesimally. They were expecting him.

His step never faltered. Demetri knocked once on the big wooden door before pushing it open and entering. He walked a few steps into the room and then dropped to one knee before the three most powerful vampires in the world.

Naturally, Aro was the first to speak. "Demetri!" he exclaimed, the smile on his face just innocent enough to seem menacing. "You've returned, how wonderful! I must say, we were worried when your guard returned without you."

"My apologies." Demetri stood. Aro, full of a child-like kind of joy that could only be described as sinister and vaguely threatening, was lounging in a cushioned stone chair. Caius, hair snow-white and wearing his usual scowl, was standing a few feet away with the slightly younger-looking Marcus, who looked as bored as he always did.

"Do us the honor of explaining your prolonged absence," Caius demanded short-temperedly.

"In the course of my mission, I had news of Carlisle Cullen and his coven. I thought it wise to follow through."

"Ah," Aro beamed, "yes, indeed. You were in his area, weren't you. How is the old vegetarian?" He chuckled at his joke as Caius snorted disdainfully.

"He sends his regards," Demetri said coolly.

"Would you care to explain why a visit just hours from where you were sent took an extra three days?" Caius snapped.

"The Cullen coven relocated a little over a year ago. I had to search them out."

Aro chuckled. "About time. If they'd stayed much longer, the humans might have started noticing things, and then we would have had to get involved. That would have been far more trouble than I like to deem necessary. Very sensible of Carlisle to move."

Caius ignored Aro and eyed Demetri suspiciously. "You're saying that your mission was forgotten and your absence lengthened so that you could tell us that Carlisle moved?"

Demetri restrained a sigh. Finally they were getting to the point. "His coven has grown." This news was indeed enough to interest both Aro and Caius. Marcus still looked as if he were only barely listening.

"They've found another vegetarian?" Aro asked sounding genuinely curious.

"What do you mean, 'grown'?" Caius demanded.

"Another female now lives with them. She's only recently been turned, but I gather that they knew her as a human. It would also appear that she's the mate of the one called Edward."

Aro sat up slightly, his face breaking out into a wide smile. "Ah, yes, Edward. Fascinating, really, what that boy is capable of. Good for him, settling down at last."

Caius scoffed but said nothing; Demetri moved on. "The Cullens are now, by a very wide margin, the largest and most powerful coven in the states." This was the part that Caius would be most interested in. He knew full well the implications of the existence of another powerful coven—especially one with ideals so very different from their own—and it was that alone that brought a rare smile, small though it was, to Caius' face. "That isn't all. The female—Isabella, I believe—has a wealth of untapped potential." Demetri took the time to look each one in the eyes before continuing. "It would appear that she doesn't thirst after blood."

Aro was sitting completely straight by now, and Caius' brief loss of scowl illustrated his surprise. The surprise was Marcus, who blinked slowly, frowning. Demetri had never seen him so animated. Marcus opened his mouth.

"Interesting," he murmured. Demetri was hard-pressed to maintain his unruffled expression.

"You have a theory, Marcus?" Aro inquired.

"I shall need to see this female," the normally silent vampire said, his voice infinitely soft.

"Yes," Aro agreed. "This is interesting news indeed, Demetri, excellent work. Where is Carlisle living now?"

"Central New York, just north of a city called Ithaca."

Aro's eyes were gleaming. "Again, my thanks. If you would, be aware that we will call upon you shortly to return there with a message for this Isabella."

Demetri nodded once. "As my lord commands."

"You may leave."

Demetri bowed and turned to exit, the Patriarchs' conversation following him out of the chamber.

"I do believe we are overdue for a visit with our dear old friend."

"Indeed. It would seem that a brief reminder of our laws is in order."

"Such a shame to send Demetri, though," Aro sighed. "We haven't left Volterra in nearly a century. Wouldn't it be about time for a little trip?"

Demetri shut the rest from his ears, walking briskly back towards the main chamber. He'd done his part, for now. It wasn't his business until they called on him again.

But he could help feeling intrigued. He'd met this Isabella during his brief visit, though the coven—and especially Edward—had gone out of their way to reduce his interaction with her. _And for good reason_, he thought, perhaps a little sadly.

He hadn't needed more than those brief moments to realize that Isabella Cullen was a gem among vampires.

Demetri smiled to himself. She would make an excellent addition to the Volturi family, and not simply for the wealth of talent that she was only just beginning to discover. Aro, Demetri was certain, would feel much the same upon meeting her. Indeed, Aro would be very reluctant to let her go.

Isabella Cullen would come to Italy, whether she wanted to or not.

It was just a shame the wedding would have to be cancelled.

_**A/N: Hello, and welcome to Blue Moon! This is the sequel to "Thanks to the Wolves" so I'd recommend heading on over there and reading that one first. This one's going to be a little more action packed and in 3rd person. Input always appreciated! Unbetaed, so please let me know if you see anything that could do with some touching up! **_

_**EB**_


	2. Perfect

**A/N: Alright, fun people. I'm going to try this again. Please, as you read, keep in mind that a lot of the decisions I made about what talents Bella would have as a vampire and honeymooning and so on and so forth were made before Breaking Dawn was released, so if things don't match up, I'm sorry! I'm going with my original ideas here, just to keep the story line in tact. Other than that, we'll see how this goes! Enjoy!**

_Four more days..._

Bella couldn't hold back the smile, even though she'd smiled so often lately that her cheeks should have been sore. She looked down at her left hand and sighed contentedly. Everything was perfect.

She was wearing the ring that had belonged to his mother, and as much as she'd resisted accepting it, she couldn't deny that she was beginning to love that ring. She could almost even admit that she was starting to love everything it represented, but all of that still seemed a little trivial.

What she really loved was Edward Cullen.

It had taken Edward the more part of a year to convince Bella to agree to marry him. She had held fast to her mother's ideals about marriage for a long time, maintaining that it hardly mattered whether they were married—she wasn't going anywhere and they were already living together—but the time she'd spent with Edward since his return home had changed her in a lot of ways, and she'd realized that she didn't object to the idea as much as she claimed. Of course, it would have been another thing entirely had she still been human and in high school. Having to tell everyone that she was getting married, accidentally hearing all of the gossip, going through an elaborate ceremony...

The idea was enough to make her feel sick.

But, she had to admit, it was hard to find objections now. The ceremony was going to be small and since most of her human friends and family thought she was dead—Jake being the exception, but he'd known it was coming—telling them that she was getting married was not an issue. Neither was her age, actually, since she was now eternally eighteen.

All in all, Bella was actually starting to feel excited. She never would have owned up to it in front of Alice, but it was true all the same.

_I'm getting married... _

She heard him coming, but only just. Even with vampire senses, Edward was difficult to hear.

Bella's smile brightened. Before she could turn from the window of her room, Edward's arms were wrapping around her waist from behind.

"Hello," she laughed, leaning into his embrace contentedly.

"Hello yourself," he answered; she could hear his smile in his voice. "What might you be up to?"

"Oh, just thinking." She turned her attention back to the expansive forest view outside her window, perfectly content.

Edward, however, was in the mood to talk. "About?" he asked.

"Wondering how in the world you convinced me to go through with this," Bella teased.

Edward chuckled. "It was only a matter of time, Bella."

"You're lucky I love you so much," Bella grumbled good-naturedly.

Edward's reply was soft. "Yes, I'd have to agree that I am."

It wasn't the words that bothered Bella, but rather the tone with which he spoke them. It reminded her rather forcibly of the way Edward had been before he'd understood just how much Bella loved him, back when he'd thought he was too much of a monster to deserve love. Bella had spent the past year proving his self-deprecating thoughts wrong, and he was by far a much happier vampire for it. It had been a very long time since she'd heard him use this tone of voice, and it snapped Bella out of her contented haze quite effectively. In fact, now that she thought about it, Edward had been acting more like his old self again lately—more pensive and worried—and it was starting to worry Bella herself.

"Okay, what is it?" she asked, turning in his arms so that she could face him.

Edward's beautiful face looked mildly surprised. "Excuse me?"

"You've been distracted all week," Bella reminded him. "Why?"

"Pre-wedding jitters?" Edward offered, grinning boyishly.

Bella rolled her eyes. "You? If it had been up to you we would have been married a week after you got home."

"What can I say?" Edward asked, his smile turning slightly devious. "Patience has never been one of my virtues." He was trying to distract her, but Bella was determined not to let it work.

"You're not nervous," she insisted. "What's wrong, Edward?"

Edward sighed as the smile slipped from his face. "I didn't want to worry you."

"For future reference, bottling something up and brooding over it for days is a surefire way to worry me," Bella said, exasperated. "Now, if you please..."

"I just...I wish he hadn't found us."

So that was what this was about. "The vampire from Italy." Edward nodded. Frowning herself, Bella recalled the red-eyed visitor they'd had a few days ago. Apart from everything the color of his eyes implied, he'd seemed nice enough. Very polite, very old-fashioned, not at all what she would have perceived as a threat. Was that really all that Edward had been worried about? But now that she thought about it, it hadn't been just him. The whole family had been a little at odds while their guest was around; much more reserved and even a little jittery. Even after he'd left things hadn't quite been the same. She'd attributed it all to the upcoming wedding and how busy everyone currently was, but... "What haven't you told me?" Bella asked slowly, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.

Edward gave in reluctantly. "You remember the name of Demetri's coven?"

"The Volturi," Bella replied without hesitation, scrunching up her face in confusion. "What about them?"

"The Volturi are the police of the vampire world—they keep the peace and enforce the rules."

Bella nodded slowly. "Keep our world a secret," she agreed. "I know that."

"They are a very powerful family, Bella, and they're not easily dealt with. Carlisle made friends with their leaders several hundred years ago, and they give him a fair amount of respect and distance because of it, but they don't approve of our way of living."

"So?" Bella asked. "Obviously it hasn't been a problem thus far."

"They didn't know about you," Edward said darkly.

This startled Bella. "What? What should that have to do with anything?"

"The Volturi would be...very interested in you, Bella."

"That's it?" Bella laughed, suddenly relieved. "Edward, everyone is interested in me. I'm not exactly normal, am I? I'm not going to leave you just because some stuffy old vampires in Italy want to experiment on me."

Edward smiled, but it was still hesitant. "You don't quite understand. The Volturi have the power to make our lives very difficult if we don't give them what they want. If they wanted to understand you badly enough, they'd do whatever it took to do so. I just...I would have much rather kept you a secret."

Bella sighed. It seemed that he wasn't going to be swayed. She shouldn't be surprised. After all, Edward had been worrying about her safety from the very beginning. Old habits... She shook her head. "Well, whatever happens, we'll deal with it together, right?"

Edward nodded, though he still didn't look too happy.

"Cheer up," she encouraged. "Everything is going to be fine. You worry far too much."

"I can't help worrying," Edward protested. "Everything that I am right now is thanks to you. You took a broken, hopeless man and you put him back together, made him hope again. I..." he closed his mouth abruptly, as if he thought he'd said far too much.

"What?"

He averted his gaze from hers. "It's nothing."

"Edward, what?" Bella insisted, taking his chin in her hands and forcing him to look back at her. "Please. Tell me."

The look in his eyes was one she'd hoped had been forever banished. "I know what it feels like to live without you," he admitted quietly. "I don't think I can imagine what it would be like to lose you forever, not to something like this."

"Hey," Bella said gently, masking her shock at his fears. "I'm not going anywhere, Edward. Not now, not ever, no matter who shows up for a visit. I love you." She placed one hand on his cheek, her thumb lightly brushing his cold skin, watching as his haunted eyes cleared. "Nothing is going to change that." She laughed slightly at the absurdity of the whole situation. "I'm marrying you in four days and you're all worked up because you think I'm going to go join another coven at the next available opportunity. Need I remind you that you're the only person in the whole world that I would even consider doing this for?"

Edward shook his head slightly, still looking troubled. "You're right," he admitted, a little sheepishly. "I know you're right, but I can't help worrying!"

"Well, I'm not putting up with this if you're not enjoying it," Bella warned. "You know it's all for you." This wasn't exactly true, but Bella felt no need to compound his guilt by explaining how selfish she felt about it all. "Please, Edward. Have a little faith in me."

At last it seemed like the storm had broken. "You're right," he said again, smiling slightly. "I'm sorry, Bella."

"You're going to be okay?" she asked cautiously.

Edward nodded firmly. "Yes. I overreacted." Bella must not have looked entirely convinced, because he picked up his playful banter right where it had left off. "I suppose I could try to be happy, if it's for you."

Bella sighed inwardly, relieved that he seemed to be over whatever it was that had momentarily broken him. "That's how I like you best," she agreed.

"Well, in that case..." Edward smirked, using one hand to tilt her face up and kissing her.

Bella found it suddenly very hard to remember what they'd been worried about. If kissing Edward as a mortal had been intoxicating, doing so now, without all the limitations, was nothing short of mind-blowing. It didn't matter that she'd had a year to acclimate—his kisses still left her absolutely breathless.

With a small moan of satisfaction, Bella pulled him closer. She was in heaven, the luckiest woman alive, to have found someone like Edward.

The moment, unfortunately, couldn't last.

There was a tremendous pounding on the frame of Bella's door that shook the entire house to it's foundations and startled the couple apart. Both had known that Emmett had been walking down the hall outside, but neither had found any ability to care or even remember what a nightmare it was to let the largest Cullen catch you up to anything more than a cuddle.

Emmett hadn't even paused in his walk down the hall. "Get a room!" he called over his shoulder as he pounded down the stairs, his voice full of laughter.

"Get a house!" Jasper yelled from the farthest corner of the house, his voice sounding slightly strangled. "One far, _far_ away from here!"

"Oh, hush, both of you," came Alice's reprimand.

Bella, thoroughly irritated at the interruption, opened her mouth to complain that they were in fact already _in_ a room—her own, private room—when she caught sight of the suddenly devilish gleam in Edward's eyes.

"Well, if you all insist," he said boldly, scooping Bella into his arms bridal style and heading for the open window...

...which was suddenly shut, with Alice standing calmly in front of it, her arms folded.

"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, what exactly do you think you are doing?" she asked evenly.

Edward grinned. "Just taking my brothers' advice."

"Put. Her. Down."

"Alice..." Edward's protest did nothing to move the deadly serious little vampire.

"Don't whine at me, Edward. Bella and I have things we need to do if you want to find yourself married in four days, so I suggest you do as I say."

Reluctantly, Edward set Bella on her feet again.

"Oh cut it out," Alice groaned at the look on his face. "You're such a child sometimes."

"In all fairness, Alice, you've managed to ruin all of my plans for the day," Edward pointed out. "What am I supposed to do while you monopolize my fiancé?"

"Go play with your brothers," Alice shrugged, in a voice that said she really didn't care. "In any case, Carlisle will be back in less than five minutes and I expect he'll want to talk to you."

"Right." Edward nodded once, suddenly preoccupied again. Bella realized that the family patriarch had been gone a whole lot since their visitor had appeared. Were the two related? Edward kissed Bella gently one last time and then left the girls alone.

Alice turned to face her future sister-in-law with a resigned expression. "Alright, let it out," she sighed.

"Alice..." Bella whined reproachfully, her voice sounding very much like Edward's had.

Alice nodded once. "Good. Now that that's behind us, let's get to work."

"It's really annoying when you do that," Bella grumbled, but Alice ignored her.

"Look, Bella. In four days you are going to be happily married and on your way to the Mediterranean, where you will be alone with Edward for a month. That may be all well and good for the two of you, but..." Alice looked slightly troubled. "...Honestly, the rest of us are going to miss you."

Bella felt a little ashamed of herself. "Alice, I...I didn't think..."

"Of course you didn't," Alice said brightly, snapping back to her brisk self. "You're rather madly in love. Hence why I did the thinking for you." She took Bella's arm and led her to the doorway, the smile on her elfin face slightly mischievous. "Come on! We've got so much to do!"

Bella allowed herself to be lead away, smiling despite her exasperation. Somehow, she got the feeling that her last four days at the Cullen house were going to be very busy indeed.

OoO

Jacob Black wasn't feeling nearly so optimistic. He was leaving for Ithaca on the very next day, but his mind was far from weddings.

Ever since that army of leeches had come traipsing through northwestern Washington, the entire pack had been on edge. No one knew if it was the sheer number of them or the fact that not one human died while they were around that was more alarming. As bad as normal bloodsuckers were, bloodsuckers on a mission, as these seemed to be, were even more frightening. It meant that, somewhere out there, there was someone calling the shots. And even though no one had died in the brief skirmish that had resulted, the filthy creatures now knew that there was a full-fledged pack of werewolves residing in Washington, and that just didn't sit well.

He'd agonized long and hard about whether it was a good idea to leave the pack right now, but he really didn't want to miss Bella's wedding. Sam had even told him to go, promising that things were unlikely to pick up again for a while, if at all. But he still felt anxious.

Jake had decided to try to throw off his nerves by going for a quick run. He'd ended up on the very northwestern tip of America, looking out over the cliffs and the rolling ocean below as the sun fell below the horizon. Nothing was out of the ordinary or even unpleasant about the evening, but Jake couldn't relax. He'd never been one for premonitions or ESP or any of that crap, but he could not shake the feeling that something was about to go down.

Something deadly.

**A/N: Sorry if this is a little overkill. I've got to get my head back in the game here. Please review and let me know how I'm doing!**


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